This invention relates to a support arrangement for engaging and maintaining in position the lower end of an article in an upright orientation, such as the lower end of a firearm supported on a rack or within the interior of a cabinet.
A wide variety of firearms, such as rifles, machine guns or related accessories, are often employed in military applications and must be stored when not in use. In the past, it has been known to provide a cabinet or the like that defines an interior within which the firearms and related accessories are stored when not in use. Typically, a certain type of cabinet or rack is provided to store a number of a certain type of firearm or accessory, and is fitted with appropriate components to store the particular type of firearm or accessory in an upright orientation. This can create wasted space, in that there may not be a sufficient number of a certain type of firearm or accessory to fill an entire cabinet or rack. In certain environments, such as aboard a transport or in a ship or other oceangoing vessel where space is at a premium, such wasted space is especially undesirable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a support arrangement for the lower end of an elongated article, such as a firearm in the form of a rifle, machine gun or related accessory, which is to be secured within or on a cabinet or rack. It is another object of the invention to provide such a support arrangement which can quickly and easily be modified or reconfigured to accommodate different types of firearms or accessories. Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a support arrangement which is modular in nature, to allow use of different types of support components for different types of firearms or accessories. Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a support arrangement which can be adjusted to vary the upright position of the supported article. A still further object of the invention is to provide such a support arrangement which is relatively simple in its components and construction, yet which provides efficient use of space and a reconfigurable, adjustable support for securely maintaining an article such as a firearm or related accessory in an upright position.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a lower support for engagement with the lower end of an upright article, such as the lower end of a gunstock, gun body, barrel or the like, includes a base and a support arrangement releasably engageable with the base. The base defines an upwardly facing surface, and is adapted to be positioned within a storage cabinet or the like for storing articles such as firearms or related accessories in an upright position. In one form, the base is secured to a lower wall or floor of the cabinet so as to be fixed in position within the interior of the cabinet.
The support arrangement includes one or more support members, each of which is configured to receive and secure in position the lower end of an upright article to be stored within the cabinet interior. In one embodiment, each support member is mounted to the base via a removable connection arrangement, which enables the support member to be secured to and removed from the base. The releasable connection arrangement may be in the form of one or more fasteners that extend through one or more openings in the support member and in the base. The openings in the base may be in the form of a series of aligned slots within which the one or more fasteners are movable. The fasteners may be provided with heads that maintain the fasteners within the slots while enabling the fasteners to move along the length of the slots, to vary the position of the support member relative to the base.
Each support member includes upstanding support structure that is configured to engage at least a portion of the lower end of the article. In one form, a single support member is provided for the lower end of each article. In this embodiment, the support structure defines spaced apart, opposed support walls between which the lower end of the article is received, and the support walls are configured to engage the lower end of the article to maintain the lower end of the article in position relative to the base. In another form, a pair of support members are provided for the lower end of each article. In this embodiment, each support structure is in the form of a support wall that is configured to receive and engage one area of the lower end of the article. In this manner, the support walls of the pair of support members receive and engage spaced apart areas of the lower end of the article, to maintain the lower end of the article in position. When used in connection with a slot-type mounting arrangement for the base as described above, the pair of support members can be moved toward and away from each other to accommodate articles having differently dimensioned lower ends.
The invention also contemplates a storage cabinet or rack for firearms and related accessories, and a method of supporting the lower end of an elongated article in an upright position, substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.